Doesn’t it seem that our world has become one big talent show? Turn on the TV (painful, I know)…The Voice, Dancing With the Stars, American Idol, X Factor, You’re a Star, The Glee Project, America’s Got Talent are just a handful of wannabe-celebrity talent shows. Or just log on to Facebook for daily videos of kids and cats performing stupid tricks. We can’t escape the exhibitionist mentality so pervasive in today’s society. In a winner-take-all world, everybody seems to want their fifteen minutes of fame.

The creative advertising industry has its own version of talent shows…we call them Awards Shows. Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, Effies and Addys have replaced the erstwhile Clios that crashed due to its inherent overindulgence of egomania. But, our industry has never been exempt from “Hey look at me, I’m a star” syndrome. This is not a criticism but a commentary. My core business is delivering talent. Like the pizza man, I am part of the food chain, a ghost in this machine and my comments reflect 27 dreadful years of experience. Every time I try to get out, they keep pulling me back in.

Creative agencies are purely the sum total of their collective talent base. Without talent, there is no point of differentiation. Without talent, there is no value proposition; just boring processes. It’s funny how clients and search consultants insist on a certain critical mass of total employees yet they only want to pay for a few. But, that’s another post. This one is about keeping the talent you have recruited intact. Recognizing top talent is relatively easy. Identifying top talent is, as well. Recruiting the talent is tricky, but do-able. Delivering talent? Tough. Maximizing top talent? Very difficult. Retaining it — the toughest challenge of all. And if you lose it, it’s wasted on YOU.

So how do you do it? Nobody asked me, but here are a few tips:

Program the hire for success from the start. Most unsuccessful hires can be traced to the early days of the employee’s tenure. Do you have an onboarding process? An agency orientation? A mentor program? Everybody needs a mentor. Have you prepared your current employees for an impact hire? It amazes me when an agency hires top talent and the candidate shows up unannounced for their first day of work. Or worse, when they have to supervise folks that have no idea who they are. Too often, an introductory email is sent out weeks following the hire and there is little definition of the candidate’s role.

The 100 day review. When things break down, they break down fast. It’s critical to conduct reviews early and often. Simple questions like, “how does the actual job compare to the job description?” And, “are you more excited or less excited about the opportunity than when you accepted the offer?” At 200 days, the questions become more personal and specific, “are you challenged?” “Are you still having fun?”

Everybody has an opinion. On operational issues, on creative issues, on cultural issues, on social issues. When I ask an employed job seeker why they are looking to move, too often they say, “nobody cares about my opinion, I’m just a hired gun.” Or worse, if they’re asked for their opinion — it isn’t valued and they feel ignored. Seek opinions from top talent…constantly.

Decisions, Decisions. Nothing pisses off top talent more than evasive partners and colleagues that make passive-aggressive decisions. Or worse, are completely indecisive. Tomorrow never comes for them. They feel they are wasting their talent trying to catch jellyfish. Be decisive in defining roles. Dictatorship is okay as long as it’s fair and benevolent.

Promises, Promises. In my experience, and that’s more than 1,000 hires; it breaks down far more often on the agency side than the candidate side. It hurts me to say this, because the agencies are my client (they pay everyone); but it never helps long-term to “sell” a candidate on an opportunity. If anything, under promise and over-deliver. There’s nothing worse than investing in top talent, introducing them to a key client and losing them because the reality of the opportunity differs from the perception.

Like this:

What is it about life that keeps us coming back for more? Since Genesis in the Garden of Eden, man is doomed to living by the sweat of his brow. We are gluttons for punishment. Still, in the face of a meaningless existence, “we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Why? Because it is both a sad and beautiful world at the same time. It’s incumbent upon us to extract the beauty. Our duty is to seek out and savor satisfaction. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, yes. For some, a liverwurst sandwich is repulsive. To others, like me, it is an art form accompanied by raw onion, rye bread and Düsseldorf mustard.

So here is my take on the best and wurst of 2015. These are the reasons I’ll be coming back for more:

Best Campaigns:

Arby’s

DirecTV ( Rob Lowe)

DirecTV (Cable World)

Geico

Honest Tea

Wurst Campaign: Obviously, Volkswagen

Best Agencies:

BBDO/NY

David&Goliath/Santa Monica

22squared Atlanta/Tampa

Made Boulder, CO

Droga5 NY

Wurst Agency: CP+B for the way they whacked Andrew Keller

People of the Year:

Pope Francis

Jimmy Fallon

Amy Schumer

Raul Castro

Lorne Michaels

Wurst Person of the Year: Donald Trump

Best Tech Toys:

Visibl

Sprinklr

Zoove

Uber app

MLB At Bat app

Wurst Tech Toy: The Apple Watch

Best Comebacks:

Arby’s

Sinatra

Springsteen

Sarge’s Deli

ARod

Wurst comeback: Tiger Woods

Best Restaurants:

Marcel Atlanta

Eventide Portland, ME

Nebo Boston

Milo’s Birmingham

Kimball House Atlanta

Wurst restaurant: Village Tavern, Winston-Salem, NC

Best Bars:

Manuel’s Tavern Atlanta

The Pittsford Pub Rochester, NY

Fanelli Cafe NYC

Carnegie Club NYC

Jimmy’s Corner NYC

Wurst Bar: Ink & Elm Atlanta (closed)

Best Albums:

Ryan Adams 1989

Taylor Swift 1989

D’Angelo Black Messiah

Bob Dylan Bootleg Series #12

Adele 25

Wurst Album: The Ties That Bind: The River Collection Bruce Springsteen

Like this:

That was the year that was

Another year over. Another year gone. So what have we learned? Nobody asked me, but I’ve learned there is nothing more valuable in our industry than the impeccable execution of brilliant creative ideas.

There was a lot of noise. But, in the end it’s all just a whimper. It’s advertising. There are only two guarantees: accounts and people will come and go. What seems to matter most is that the line coming in the front door is longer than the one leaving out the back. Here’s a recap off the top of my head:

10 big wins & losses:

Subway boots MMB in Boston and signs on BBDO/NY

Olive Garden relieves Grey/NY and signs on McGarryBowen

Applebee’s departs CP+B and signs on Barkley

Bank of America abandons the Holding Company formula; ditches WPP for Hill Holliday

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines bumps JWT for Mullen Lowe

Norwegian Cruise Lines ousts The Martin Agency for BBDO/Atlanta

Jack in the Box relinquishes Secret Weapon for David&Goliath

Priceline bumps Butler Shine for BBDO/NY

Bud Light whacks BBDO/NY for Wieden+Kennedy

Weight Watchers sheds Wieden+Kennedy for Havas

6 big hires:

Tor Myhren leaves Grey Global for Apple

Joe Tripodi lands at Subway

Wendy Clark blows off Coca-Cola for DDB

Simon Bond ditches BBDO for IPG

Susan Credle leaves Leo Burnett, joins FCB as Global CCO

Brad Brinegar named as Cheil CEO

The Palma Awards

Okay, you don’t need me to tell you what you already know. Sure, Wieden, Martin, Crispin and Fallon are hot stuff. BFG9000, Butler Shine and 72 & Sunny are the rising rockets (I already told you that 3 years ago). But who made the biggest breakthroughs in 2015?

Agency of the Year: 22squared (Atlanta & Tampa)

Eight account wins in 18 months, including Mizuno, The Home Depot, Krystal & SunTrust. Also named Ad Age’s Top 50 Places to Work. They are no longer the best-kept secret in advertising.

Small agency of the year: Made Movement (Boulder)

Bogusky investment pays off with the Made Men on a mission…this is the best story in advertising. When someone tries to guilt you about our industry, send them here: http://mademovement.com

Big agency of the year: BBDO/NY

Hard to call BBDO a breakthrough agency. But what John Osborn did out of NY this year was heroic. These are the NY Yankees of advertising.

MVP: Joe Alexander, The Martin Agency

Tough call with Gerry Graf and Ted Royer in the mix. Joe gets the nod. Amazing reel from what
was once known as a regional print agency.

Like this:

So your agency just spent about 200 hours frantically copying & pasting a written RFP response which you submitted a few minutes before the deadline. We all know the drill: assign sections of the response to a handful of senior managers and pour the ingredients into your RFP template. Then package it in a nifty custom binder and Fedex it off to the search consultant or client.

Then what happens?

Unfortunately, not much. I was quite surprised when I started running agency reviews 5 years ago how little of the written responses were actually read in the initial stage of the process. What I learned was that the voluminous agency tomes (many exceeding 100 pages) were perfunctorily glanced at, thumbed through or ignored entirely.

A video component has been a part of the RFP process for about 15 years. The first one I ever saw came from Boston-based Pile & Company around 2001 and it asked for a short agency “culture video.” Then a few years later, it evolved into a request for a 5-10 minute video of the agency team that would work on the account having a roundtable discussion about the opportunity. I always incorporated the latter into my RFP’s when managing a review.

But, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. My clients were ONLY watching thevideos and when impressed, they requested to ONLY look at the creative work. They ignored the written responses. Instead, they would simply ask me some of the key questions like, “how many employees?” and “where are they based?” and “do they have experience in our category?” And, of course, “where did they come out on their cost proposal?” They didn’t read the written response until we boarded a plane to visit a semi-finalist agency!

Which got me thinking…the video format allowed for breakthrough creativity and opportunities to make emotional connections with the client. It gave challenger agencies the chance to out-hustle the big boys. The best ones entertained, educated and inspired. AND they saved everybody a ton of time. What if the RFP called for video response entirely?

I just finished my second ALL-video RFP review. We asked the basic 12 or so questions be addressed up front (employees, mission, process, etc.). And then we asked to meet the team. And then we gave them creative license to riff however they wanted: “Show us what you’re all about…”

Most of the videos came in at 10-12 minutes in duration, and were shot with a GoPro camera. The good ones made us laugh or cry or get goosebumps (the best ones, all three). With two courageous and innovative marketing clients, I think we revolutionized the Agency Review process.

Like this:

Often I’m asked by creative people for advice & assistance in constructing their portfolio and digital presence. In 27 years, I’ve placed more than 1,000 creative people at some of the best agencies in the business: CP+B, BBDO, GSD&M, C-K and 22squared, to name just a few. I’ve reviewed tens of thousands of creative portfolios and have learned what kind of book gets agency interviews, and what kind gets ignored.

While the format has evolved from hard-shell cases to online portfolios, the basic question remains the same: How can you best showcase your experience and work?

Due to popular demand on all levels — from Juniors to ECD’s, I’ve decided to launch a new offering for creative candidates seeking to upgrade their portfolios and careers:

Like this:

We all know the importance of breakthrough creative advertising for any brand or category. In the sea of sameness that is the restaurant category, an effective ad campaign is what often separates the industry leaders from the pack.

Today, the restaurant landscape consists of a handful of “haves” and then, hundreds of “have-nots.” The haves are killing the competition: maintaining significant margins, reporting consistent growth and sales increases, attracting strong franchisees and of course, building brand preference and driving volume simultaneously. The have-nots are giving away food (“2 for $20,” etc.), reporting consecutive quarters in the red and struggling to keep their franchisees and/or investment partners at bay.

Millward Brown recently ran a study on award-winning creative work and determined that it is 2,000 times more likely to be effective. I know that marketers generally tend to be leery of creative awards; but, strong creative works.

You can pretty much tell who the haves and have-nots are just by watching TV. Chipotle, Panera, Taco Bell, Subway and Popeye’s are a few restaurant brands killing the competition with breakthrough creative. Particularly impressive are the effects of recent strong creative on formerly stale, struggling brands like Arby’s and Church’s Chicken.

And, the have-nots? Just look at the new McDonald’s work, or Wendy’s, or Burger King’s or Olive Garden’s or Golden Corral’s. Is it bad? No, it’s worse — it’s mediocre. And it all looks the same.

And, of course, you are struggling to maintain strong margins because you are giving food away

You system’s unit growth has ceased

Same-store sales are flat

Sometimes, even great creative agencies like Wieden + Kennedy and CP+B drop the ball — as they have recently with KFC and Applebee’s respectively. The reason? It’s hard (really hard) to cram a memorable creative concept into the restaurant commercial “formula.” You’ve got to show the food, you’ve got to show the deal…that only gives you a few precious seconds to execute a strong concept as well. I believe this makes the restaurant category the most challenging creatively.

Like this:

So this is the digital age. You are not just an ad agency anymore. You are now a hybrid, tradigital,
media agnostic, nimble, agile, curating creator of commercial content. Good for you. Why does your website still look like an ad agency’s?

It’s no great insight that your company’s single most important piece of identity is your website. It’s where you send prospects, clients, search consultants, headhunters and potential employees to learn more about you and what you do. It’s where Google sends anyone who searches your name. It’s probably the most important piece of communications you will ever create. I spend most of my waking life looking at these things. Why am I mostly underwhelmed?

Recently, an old friend called to say he was re-doing his agency’s site and asked if I had any tips. This man, mind you, has one of the most startling imaginations of any creative I have worked with in my 27 years in advertising. In short, a great new site takes a great imagination. So he’s off to a good start. Make sure you appoint your most imaginative minds to your new site. The old site was a “business tool.” The new site is much more than that. It’s your digital persona.

The trap is to talk to yourselves. Don’t fall in it. I’ve looked at agency sites from every possible angle: with clients, as a search consultant, as a headhunter, as a recruit and as a biz dev person. I’ve observed what causes your targets to keep clicking (the new site) or opt out (the old site).

Old site:

Themeless — No connection of your positioning to any mission, purpose or specialty

Case studies — “When Acme Corporation came to us, boy were they up shit’s creek. We saved the day with our trademarked processes, brilliant insights and (mediocre) creative, and here’s how…”

Bios — “Joe has won every imaginable award on the planet. He loves dogs and look how handsome he is.”

TV spots — usually the only moving thing on the site besides that unsettling download onto the landing page

CTA — “What are you waiting for? Fill out this generic form below”

New Site:

Theme — The site makes an immediate statement and emotional connection to what the agency brand stands for

Video — The connection is made through a short agency video that connects the agency’s positioning with the core values of your targets. This is the first thing that comes up front & center on your landing page.

Infographics — The most effective way to explain who, you are, what you do and why you do it. “The agency in 60 seconds” is a better link to these than “About us”